Sipros said sincerely: "Lord Prosous, don't worry, I will not interfere with your military command!" ”

Since it had been a pleasure to work with Cipros all these years, Leotizides nodded in agreement.

Davers smiled and encouraged them: "I hope that this time to attack Syracuse, Prosous you can continue to cooperate well with Sipros, capture Syracuse as soon as possible, solve this hidden danger in the rear of the army, and then lead the army to the west to join me." ”

……………………………………

After the conversation was over, Davers left Sipros alone again.

When Sipros thought that Davers was going to give a face-to-face lecture on the political plan of Syracuse, Davers asked in a deep voice, "What is the mood of the people in the city now?" ”

"Huh?" Cipros was stunned for a moment.

"Since the outbreak of the war, the Sicilian territory has suffered a lot of losses, especially Catanay, not only the houses and fields have been damaged, the property has been plundered, and the citizens are also the most killed and injured, they must have a lot of complaints about the kingdom, right?!" Davers looked heavy and asked in a deep voice again.

Sipros had come back to his senses and understood what Davers was worried about, and he said truthfully: "Your Majesty, if the war with Carthage had broken out a few years ago, the Sicilian territory would have been in turmoil and chaos, but after the outbreak of the 'Laodisien Incident', Your Majesty decisively disposed of a group of unscrupulous officials and old nobles in the Sicilian territory, readjusted the land policy, strengthened the governance of the Sicilian cities, and allowed the Eighth Legion to conquer the rebellious Sicilian people, and the Sicilian territory became more stable. Over the years, the Sicilian people have become more attached to the kingdom.

However, even so, when the war broke out and the people learned that the Carthaginian army had landed in Sicily and that the kingdom had not sent reinforcements, there were some complaints that the kingdom did not pay enough attention to the kingdom and ignored their safety. Fortunately, Lord Prosous inflicted heavy losses on the Carthaginian army at Minoa, and the 3rd Fleet defeated the Carthaginian fleet on the north coast, giving the population some confidence in the war.

But then a storm devastated the Sicilian fleet, plunging the people of Katanai into mourning, as more than 5,000 members of the crew from Katanai died at sea. Later, Prosus's defeat at the Battle of Gera and the Carthaginian army invaded the Catanian plain and wreaked havoc, the people were so angry that they lost their minds and gathered at the town hall to protest, demanding that Prosusus lead his troops out of the city and drive away the Carthaginian cavalry that was raging on the plain. Fortunately, Xenofenes quietly let his subordinates guide public opinion in secret, and the officials were trying their best to appease them, and the situation was brought under control.

Later, when Palagonia was burned, the people of Catanay mourned for the 2,000 citizens of Catanay who died in the battle, but many people realized that if Prosous had not held the city, Catana might have suffered the same tragic fate, so some people went to the town hall to apologize.

Your Majesty, I'm sorry! Since you arrived in Katanai a day early, and most of the people of Katanai were paying tribute to their loved ones who had died in battle, it was too late to organize, so the scene at the port to greet you was a bit cold. But that doesn't mean the people of Catana have a problem with you.

As far as I know, they are very excited to hear that you have arrived with your army, because it means that they can finally get rid of the Carthaginian threat and start rebuilding their homeland, and they are eager for you to avenge them, as the people of the city hate the Carthaginians very much! ”

After hearing this, Davers was silent for a long time, and then asked softly, "How many citizens of Catana have died in the war so far?" ”

"Counting the crew members who drowned in the two naval battles, there are about 10,000 people, in addition to more than 2,000 wounded and unable to fight again."

Davers sighed: "For this war, the people of Catana have paid a lot of sacrifices!" But now that the state treasury is tight, I am afraid that it will not be able to give enough bereavement benefits to the families of the deceased in a short period of time, so right...... You give me a list of the citizens who died in battle, and try to bring the families of the dead and wounded soldiers and sailors to the local council, and I will be present to offer them my condolences and thanks. ”

"Your Majesty, you personally condoled with them, and they must have been very comforted! But—" Sipros looked embarrassed: "The venue of the local council can only accommodate a maximum of 400 people, and the number of dead and injured family members is far more than 10,000, I'm afraid—"

"Then let them enter the venue in batches, and I will offer condolences in batches."

"But then, Your Majesty—" Sipros said worriedly.

Davers understood what he was worried about, and said in a firm tone: "Don't worry about me, they have lost their relatives for the sake of the kingdom, there is nothing more sad than this!" As long as I can give them some comfort, it's nothing if I'm tired. ”

"I understand, Your Majesty, I'll arrange it well." Sipros stood up and bowed respectfully.

……………………………………

At noon on the second day, most of the men of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 6th, 7th, 8th, Lucanian Reserve, 1st, 2nd, and 4th Cavalry Regiments, the Roman Reserve Brigade, and the Mountain Scout Brigade arrived in front of the city of Palagonia.

A month ago Palagonia was a new fortress with a well-developed defensive system, but now it is in ruins: traps have been removed, deer have been pulled out, trenches have been filled, arrows, javelins, stone bullets, swords and spears can be seen on the ground from time to time, the earth beneath the city has turned blood-red and dried up and clumped, and the strong outer walls have become ruins, and soldiers can enter the city without having to go through the gates. But they had to be careful, as the broken walls were still falling stones and dust downwards from time to time......

When they entered the city, the soldiers were stunned: there were no houses, no streets, everything was reduced to ashes, and it was charred black before their eyes.

Max followed his comrades, carefully bypassing the piles of charred ruins, the lamenting words of his comrades sounded in his ears, after these few days of frequent interaction and language stimulation, he could roughly understand a few Greek words such as "fire, battle", combined with the scene seen outside the city, he was also shocked in his heart: what a terrible battle had taken place here!

Not long after, they came to the inner city wall, which was also ruined, and the wall was also charred and black. Passing through the gap and entering the inner city, the ground turns from black to blood red again.

In the center of the inner city, there was a half-collapsed tower, and on the ground around the tower, there were many criss-crossing wooden pillars, and the sharp-eyed soldiers could clearly see the blood stains on the wooden pillars and the iron nails and ropes remaining at both ends, and a terrible picture suddenly appeared in their minds, so there was a commotion in the ranks.

At that moment, Davers, dressed in military uniform, ascended to the top of the tower that had been urgently repaired, followed by a dozen messengers.

The ranks gradually quieted down, and the soldiers, under the command of the officers, formed a relatively dense queue centered on the tower.

Max looked up at the tower like the rest of the soldiers, and this was the second time he had seen the King of Dionia, but unlike at the bonfire, he looked majestic and dignified.

"Citizens of Dionia!" Davers's voice was loud and full of breath, but it spoke slowly, in order to ensure that the messenger could accurately convey his words: "The land on which you now stand, which a month ago was guarded by the First Brigade of the Seventh Legion and the two reserve brigades of the Catanay, had a total of only 3,000 soldiers, and the enemy they faced was the 100,000-strong army of Carthage.

However, these warriors were undaunted, and repeatedly repelled the enemy's fierce attacks, and fully resisted the Carthaginian army for more than 20 days! At the most dangerous time, they even risked their lives to ignite a fire in the city, inflicting heavy losses on the Carthaginians, and finally because of the disparity in strength, Carthage used the tactics of crowds to capture the small city...... However, these warriors fought to the end, and not a single one of them surrendered, watering the land with all their blood! ”

Hearing these words, the soldiers all subconsciously lowered their heads and stared at the reddish-brown ground.

In fact, not all of the defenders of Palagonian were killed, and when the inner city was breached and the Carthaginians stormed the towers, the few remaining Ionian soldiers, who were extremely tired and scarred, chose to surrender, only to be captured by the Carthaginians and subjected them to cruel punishments, where Davos glorified them all.

"Carthaginians! Fierce and cruel Carthaginians! Davers said angrily: "They have done heinous deeds! They actually crucified the bodies of the warriors! Yes, the stakes that were erected in front of you! By the time reinforcements arrived to clean up the battlefield, their bodies were already horrific! ”

There was a commotion among the soldiers under the tower, and the voices of indignation arose.

Davers waited deliberately for a moment, and then shouted impassionedly: "Why do the Carthaginians, who boast the most splendid culture in the Western Mediterranean, do such evil deeds that even barbarians would not do?!" It is because our warriors used their flesh and blood to hold back the Carthaginian army here for more than 20 days, and sabotaged the Carthaginians' plan to capture Catanay and expel the people of the kingdom from Sicily! It was because our warriors inflicted casualties on the Carthaginian army with far more casualties than they numbered with this small city alone! It was because there were only 3,000 of our warriors stationed here, and in the face of a strong attack of 100,000 people, they created such a brilliant record, which made the Carthaginians panic!